October Storm
by frozenhikki
Summary: The October wind brings change into Ruby's life. After graduating from high school with no plans for her future, she then meets the ever ambitious Weiss Schnee. A cold touch can be quite startling, but it can also wake you from the haze of falling from one day into the next. Chapter 1 and 2 edited. White Rose. AU.
1. Chapter 1

Books and papers lay scattered across the kitchen table. Career advisers, ads, university guides, everything Ruby had found in the cosy little library around the corner. Considering the table was barely enough for the two sisters and Ruby's uncle to have a comfy breakfast, there wasn't much room left.

The radio on the window was playing some pop song Ruby didn't care much for, with a layer of rusty static in the background. They could have just bought a new radio, but her uncle insisted on keeping it. He'd had it since he got his first flat way back in – Ruby pondered for awhile - well, quite sometime ago, judging from the already yellowed plastic. A tired sigh escaped her lips as she repeatedly picked up one book, magazine or flyer, skimped over it, then tossed it back on the table.

It had been months since she graduated and she still had no clue what to do. Not even a direction or idea. Vividly her sister's graduation a few years ago came to mind. Yang always knew what she wanted. Even if she changed her mind every three months, at least wasn't sitting around at home drinking cocoa with marshmallows, drowning in the sugary misery of having too much free time. Ruby hung her head and stirred her 'Best Team Leader' mug she got from her friends in summer camp last year. The marshmallows were soaked, and the brownish liquid had already gone stale.

Her sister had thrown herself right into musical studies, switching styles and instruments, doing basically everything she could during her time at college, and then only two months ago completely threw everything into the trash saying she wanted to try something more practical. Promptly she got an apprenticeship at a local wind instrument workshop. It was way closer than the college, since it was just down the street in an endearing little plaza. During her breaks she would come hang with Ruby, go out for a coffee, or annoy their friend Blake at her work. It seemed so perfect and Yang seemed so happy. Ruby only wished the best for her sister of course, but there was a nagging feeling of jealousy.

She wanted to be content too. Or at least do something. Achieve something. In school everything seemed so easy; you wake up in the morning, go to class, grind through the lessons, go home, have fun with friends, play video games, forget homework, and repeat it all the next day. Looking at Yang, she felt like she was stagnating. Yang was making leaps to adulthood.

But Ruby felt like she had to have some kind of plan. She was a _leader_, she was Yang's sister, she was Ruby Rose for Christ's sake! Sure, there had been plenty of times when she'd just act on impulse, throwing herself into situations without thinking. But at least she was doing something. Now she was sitting around in the kitchen, with the dirty plates from her 13 o'clock breakfast mindlessly thrown into the overloaded sink, wearing no more than a loose tank top and sweatpants. 'I have given up on life'-pants, as Blake called them.

She was about to just take a nap right then and there on the kitchen table in the middle of all those guides on 'How to Live Your Life' when her phone started vibrating. Ruby considered it for a moment. She didn't feel like she had the energy to reach over and see who wanted to disturb her well-earned midday misery break. Looking down at herself and her no-life-pants, she slapped herself on the knees with a sigh. She straightened her back and picked up the phone.

To her surprise, Blake's number was on the display. Along with it was a photo of Blake hiding her face behind a book, her cute little ribbons peeking out. It had been awhile since Blake had contacted her. She'd been so incredibly busy with something, Ruby couldn't quite remember what, that she even barely had time to work at the library.

"Hey?" she spoke into the phone. The cold screen pressed against her face, making her shiver.

"Hey, Ruby. It's me, Blake. Yang and I are going to have lunch at the plaza during her break. You should come too. It's been a while."

A quick glance at the clock informed Ruby that Yang's break would start shortly. "I just had breakfast...well, more like lunch I guess." Ruby giggled and felt like she could hear Blake smile over the line. "But yeah, haven't seen you around at all, so I'll still swing by! I'll just get ready."

"See you then?" Blake never had been one for long phone calls. Also, they would have time to talk enough during lunch.

"See you then."

Ruby nodded, more to herself than Blake, and got up. It was time to get out of her no-life-pants.

It didn't take Ruby long to finish. She just hopped in the shower and grabbed the first clothes she could get a hold off – a skirt and a hoodie that were lying on her desk chair. She tore through her hair with a brush, almost ripping out a few of her her red toned streaks. Glancing at the mirror, she took her coat and backpack and left the apartment. The lights, of course, still left on.

Once outside, Ruby took a deep breath. It had been two days since she left the small apartment that she shared with Yang and Uncle Qrow. She was quite happy they lived in such a nice part of town. The buildings were all quite old, had nice ornaments, and inside they were all blessed with high ceilings. The path to the plaza had a natural stone paving that glistened in the sun, wet from the rain earlier. Being a work day it was mostly quiet, the kids still in school and parents at work. On the weekend the street would be full of people, bursting with life. The waitress at the countless little cafés would be hurrying around like busy bees serving the customers outside.

Ruby really liked her town. She liked the library, she liked the old folks who greeted her, she liked knowing the names of the cashier in the supermarket, she liked the weekly markets at the plaza. Even during this late rainy October day, the town seemed warm.

Many of her friends in school wanted to 'go big' (that was their way of putting it) and see the 'real world'. Big cities, with lots of people, giant buildings, cinemas everywhere, arcades, clubs, bars, all that cool stuff. But for some reason Ruby didn't think she would even go to those places that often. She preferred the little old movie theatre that had only two showing rooms. It had its own charm, the seats where nice, and sometimes they would just let Ruby in for free. Being the best friend of the owner's son did have some cool benefits.

The students that came to town to study at the nearby art college or at the school for applied sciences were less satisfied. They often complained that the theatre only showed boring movies, that there were only old people, or all the movies had been released last year. Ruby thought all of this was just fine. She didn't need much more than this. Her friends were here, Yang was here, Uncle Qrow was, sometimes, here. Sure it was a pain to have to take a half hour train ride to get to the bigger cities, and after eight o'clock there were rarely any busses running. But Ruby still thought of this town as her home.

Even though she spent the first five years of her life in China, that would never really make it her home. She barely remembered it – the only thing clear in her mind were her parents, the stench of the big city and some random Mandarin phrases in the back of her head. She tried to pick it up later, at Yang's urging, but it just seemed complicated and way too hard. Ruby was a smart cookie, as Uncle Qrow used to say, but she was just incredibly lazy when it came to studying things that didn't interest her. Which mirrored itself on her grades, which were all pretty average aside for the one or two subjects she liked. Something that now, searching for a place to study or work, bothered her. Shaking her head violently, her hair slapping her in the face, she banned the those kinds of thoughts to the back of her head. She needed to loosen up a bit and have fun with her sister and Blake now.

When she reached the plaza she walked directly towards a little café, directly beside the workshop Yang worked at. Ruby didn't know what it was called, because the awning only said 'Café, Bistro, Restaurant'. Asking one of the waitresses what its name was always slipped her mind, though in the end it didn't matter. The cocoa they served was just the way Ruby liked it, the food was excellent, and the staff was nice. Also, her favourite waitress Nora always gave her a large cookie with the cocoa. Nora was the main reason they even started coming. The bubbly girl was a friend of Jaune and Ruby, and had been working there since they were sixteen. At the beginning they would only show up during her shifts, but after taking a liking to the café and its charming old furniture, they made it their usual place to have lunch, dinner, or just to hang out and have a drink.

"Ruby!"

Nora completely forgot that she was taking an order from an adorable little grandma and rushed towards Ruby. With equal enthusiasm Ruby greeted her back and hugged her friend. They parted after two short pecks on the cheek, and Nora quickly directed her, "Your sis is at the usual table in the back, I'll get your usual in just a sec!"

Then Nora returned to the grandma, who was waiting with a bemused smile on her face. Taking off her rucksack and coat, Ruby approached her sister's table. Even without Nora's direction she would have found her easily. The wild blonde mane, quite strange for a Chinese girl, always made her stick out like a sore thumb.

"Huh?" Ruby slowed down and took another look. Beside Blake was seated an unfamiliar girl. Her hands folded in lap, back completely straight, eyes half closed. Her presence almost vanished next to Yang's burning aura and personality, which was usually the centre of attention. Nevertheless there was a certain air about her. Something Ruby couldn't quite name. It felt like she didn't belong here at all. It might have been the alien white hair, which must have been at least as long as Yang's or Blake's, or the expensive clothes she wore, or the distant expression. Before Ruby knew it, she had stopped in her tracks and was silently watching the unknown girl.

Suddenly she felt inadequate in her hoodie and worn out skirt. The childish rucksack in her hand seemed a lot heavier. Ruby had never been shy or insecure or anything like that, but in a matter of seconds Ruby suddenly wanted to be back at home in her no-life-pants. She let out a heavy breath, lifted her foot and took a step forward, only to halt again.

Thankfully Blake, who seemed to be either bemused or bored by Yang's story – which was illustrated with violent hand gestures – noticed her. With a warm smile she waved her hand, which freed Ruby from whatever had taken possession of her. Easing up, she quickly hurried to the table. Yang ceased her antics, followed Blake's eyes, and then started waving too. Her waves were just a lot more...spirited, yes that was definitely the right word. Quickly hugging Blake and giving her short kisses on the cheek, Ruby seated herself beside her sister.

"Sorry, I came as fast as I could," she apologized, slightly bowing her head.

"Nah, nah, totes our fault. Thing was kinda on a whim." Yang shrugged, patting Ruby's shoulder apologetically. Bake gave an affirming nod.

"This is Weiss Schnee," Blake explained with a smile. "She is the reason I have been so busy recently."

The girl in front of Ruby looked at her. Her lips were slightly tugged upwards in a polite smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," she said, her voice surprisingly clear.

From her looks Ruby would've guessed the girl was shy, but she met her with an unwavering gaze. Weiss Schnee's features, even graced with a smile, had a fierceness to them that Ruby had never encountered.

"Ah, yeah! Me, too! I am Ruby!" A mix between a giggle and the sound of being strangled escaped her lips.

Ruby didn't know why she suddenly felt so squirmy in her seat and had problems returning Weiss's gaze. It might have been because she had spent the last few month mostly at home, not knowing what she should do with her life, but Ruby didn't think she had gotten _that_ awkward.

"So, cutting right to it. Blakey." Blake raised an eyebrow, but Yang didn't care. "You wanted to wait until Ruby was here before you spilled the beans. So, what the heck have you been up to?"

Yang either noticed Ruby's awkwardness or she was just being Yang, either way Ruby was thankful that the introduction seemed to be over.

Blake sighed and opened her mouth, but it seemed Weiss was faster. With a flick of her hair she explained, "'Blake-y' has been helping with my performance." Ruby might have imagined it but the girl seemed strangely hostile, no, maybe dismissive was the right term. Looking at Yang and her furrowed brows, she had noticed it too.

"Yes, Weiss is holding a performance at the old theatre next week. I am accompanying her on the piano," Blake continued with a smile, trying to ease the tension.

A slight "ah" escaped Ruby's lips. She had almost forgotten that Blake, too, had been into music – she and Yang originally had met during college, after all. Blake dropped out way earlier, deciding that it just wasn't her thing and she just liked working with books way better. She had been working in the library since then.

Yang slammed her fist on the table. "What!?" Apparently Ruby wasn't the only one surprised. "You haven't played the piano since," Yang stopped for a second, biting her lip. "That dude, you know..."

Ruby studied her sister's face. There was a certain amount of anger, confusion and surprise distorting it – which was normal, when this 'dude' came up. Adam. Ruby didn't know much about what happened, she had only met him a few times. She only knew that Yang despised the young man, Blake's dropping out might have been slightly related to the incident, and that both girls didn't like to talk about it. She respected that and never asked, but now that she thought about it, Blake bid her musical studies goodbye, and had slept over at their place quite a few times. Her obsession with books also became worse. Ruby scratched her head in thought. Blake certainly had been really depressed for a while, even if it hadn't been that apparent to her back then.

"Yeah," Blake sighed. She took another big breath, as if motivating herself. "But Weiss asked me to, and we have been friends for a long time."

Yang didn't seem satisfied, she huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. She glared at Weiss, who just raised an eyebrow.

If Weiss and Blake had been friends for a long time, did Weiss come from around here? Ruby had never seen her, and she certainly hadn't been in her school. Sure, Yang and Blake didn't became friends until college, so there is always the chance of missing each other even in a small town like this. But Ruby doubted she wouldn't notice someone like Weiss. Ruby tried to estimate how old the girl was. She couldn't be much older than her, could she?

"It's going to be my last performance and I would not want anyone except for Blake at my side for this," Weiss said. "I still think it's a waste you are not playing anymore. You have talent."

She looked at Blake, who didn't seem to mind her gaze, unlike Ruby. Said girl's breath hitched watching Weiss's face, because the lock of hair above her eye didn't move at all, and it took Ruby a moment to realize that it _wasn't_ part of the girl's white hair, but a pale scar marking her face. Now that she realized it, the scar, which was hard to spot on the pale skin and white hair, seemed so striking. It was now almost impossible to miss. Ruby begged to whoever might be up there that Weiss didn't notice her stare.

"I already told you, Weiss. It's my decision."

"Yeah, who are you to get up in other people's biz." Yang didn't even bother to hide her dislike. She never did. Even when Ruby asked her to, and god knows how much Ruby wanted to ask her in this moment. The tension at the table was creeping up on her, like a doctor's hand before an injection. Weiss looked scarier every second.

"I just think people with talents, that are free to follow their passions, should do so. And Blake is with no doubt gifted. Throwing that away is quite foolish."

Weiss didn't even look at Yang, casually pulling strands of hair behind her ear. Yang was about to say something, something probably mean and something probably insulting, maybe with some Chinese curses in between but a bubbly Nora almost dropped a giant plate in front of her.

"No fighting, Yang. Or the next time you come here, I'll spit in your drink." Nora grinned from ear to ear. She was probably remembering the time when Yang and two youngsters wrecked havoc in the small cafe. They were fighting about something Ruby couldn't quite remember, but she was sure it was important. Or at least important enough to justify Yang punching them repeatedly in the face.

Nora quickly served Blake her salad and something white, which Ruby suspected could have been Tofu once. She then ran to the nearby counter and brought their drinks, along with Ruby's cookie.

"Seriously, Ruby? Do you drink anything else any more?" Yang huffed, trying to change the topic. Either she was trying not to get any of Nora's fluids anywhere near her drink, or maybe she just didn't want to pick a fight right after meeting Weiss.

"Leave me be. I like it." Ruby pouted and began nibbling her cookie. It wasn't like the soda her sister was usually consumed was much better.

"It's unhealthy," Weiss said as she sipped her tea. Taking a quick look at the table she saw that the girl didn't put any milk or sugar in it. Weiss also seemed to look way more dignified with her drink than Ruby ever could, even if she tried. Looking at the cookie in her hand, she felt childish compared to her. The rucksack at her feet with some trashy fantasy hero novel and a game console in it didn't help much. Again, she wondered how old Weiss was. When she put the cup down, Weiss continued.

"You don't want to end up with diabetes before leaving high school, do you?"

Ruby heard Yang and Blake giggle. A blush rose to her cheeks.

"I graduated a few months ago!" she cried, trying to defend herself. A bit too loudly, as a few guests turned their attention to the four girls, but Ruby didn't care. She felt embarrassed, and her self-consciousness got worse than ever. She skipped two grades, so naturally she looked young, and Weiss would assume she was still a pupil.

It didn't bother her usually, but for some reason she felt incredibly immature in company of the girl in front of her. And she didn't like that. At all.

"Oh, I am sorry for assuming." She wasn't. If she was, it didn't show on her face.

"I skipped two grades, so it's okay." Ruby mumbled, eyeing her cookie, suddenly not sure if she wanted it.

"How old are you then?"

Ruby didn't know if the girl was just trying to small talk or if she was actually interested. It was hard to read her, especially if one didn't dare to look at her properly. "Just turned 17."

"I see."

With that, the conversation ended. Ruby wondered if she wanted to ask the girl's age, but she couldn't really get the words out.

"So, what do you play?" Thank god for Yang.

"I sing."

Ruby heard Yang go 'Ohhhh' in faked awe as they started to talk about some music stuff that Ruby had no idea what it actually meant. Something Italian sounding, it might have been soprano, which Ruby thought was related to high pitch and opera. She tried to follow but the Italian terms got more distinct, more complicated and Ruby gave up when suddenly Weiss used German words. Though it ended with Ruby at least understanding that Weiss sang something called 'deutsche soubrette' or 'charaktersopran' though she preferred to perform roles that are 'lyrische sopran'? Ruby had no idea what any of this meant and wouldn't even dare and try to pronounce it. She felt quite alienated between these three music buffs. The most she had to with music were silly pop songs she sometimes danced to when nobody looked. Insecurity seemed to be following her around these days. She was kind of glad when Weiss excused herself to go to the bathroom.

"So, what's up with her?" Yang asked as soon as Weiss was out of sight.

Blake shrugged. "What do you mean?"

"She acts all high and mighty and then forces you to play the piano again." Yang glared into the direction of the toilets.

"She is not forcing me, Yang. She asked and I decided to go with it. It's not like I hate it"

Ruby felt a bit like a kid watching their parents fight. Yang glared at Blake, who just returned the gesture with a raised eyebrow and a bite of salad. This seemed to remind Yang of the giant, though already cold, steak on her plate, forgotten over a shared passion in music. With a huff she started cutting, almost ripping the steak into pieces.

Turning her glare to Ruby she then said, "And what's up with you!? Acting all shy and stuff, that's not like you."

Ruby looked around helplessly, not sure what to say. She never backed down, she would always reply even if she sometimes doubted herself. Qrow always said that sometimes she and Yang were both too headstrong for their own good, and he'd wondered if maybe both girls were just stupid.

"Like, remember how this Cardin dude you told me about tried to bully Jaune? He was twice your size and you just kicked him in the shin, like nobody's business," Yang said, stuffing a way too large piece of steak in her mouth and gulping it down.

"Yang, please, chew your food properly." Blake didn't even look at her. "I guess, Weiss just brings out that kind of reaction in people..." Blake smiled at Ruby, as if to cheer her up, and continued.

"It's normal to feel a bit –" She paused for a second. "...unsure around her. She is not easy to deal with."

Ruby blew a strand of hair out of her face and leaned back in her chair. Yeah, no kidding. Though she had a nagging feeling that it wasn't just Weiss, but her own recent insecurities added up on top of Weiss that made her react this way. Not that she could tell them that, Ruby certainly didn't want to whine and elaborate the topic.

"Seriously. I don't like her." Yang swallowed the last piece of steak. Considering how fast it had vanished under Ruby's eyes, Yang hadn't taken Blake's advice. "Also she takes way too long to piss."

"Yang!" Blake scolded and then added, "You don't even know her, don't judge her so harshly."

"I don't wanna know her." In one go Yang downed her coke. Table manners were never her strong suit, especially when in a bad mood.

"How can she be an old friend and I haven't heard of her, like ever?"

Ruby nodded; she had also wondered this. Certainly she wasn't as close to Blake as Yang was, but she would still consider Blake one of her better friends. Weiss really came out of nowhere. Blake just sighed and shook her head.

"I have mentioned her. Several times, not by name, but I have mentioned her," she started, eyeing a tomato she had stabbed with her fork. "Her parents knew mine and Adam's. We even went to the same -"

Yang interrupted her immediately. "Hah! So, she is one of his folks. No wonder I didn't like her."

Blake rolled her eyes and continued. "She is not one of 'Adam's folks'. Quite frankly she never liked Adam."

"Well at least she got one thing right." Yang played with her empty glass. Her mood had been ruined the first time Adam came up, Ruby guessed. It was always like that.

"Yang." Blake sighed and put her fork down.

"Seriously, why the fuck are you playing the piano again? Also, what are you 'yang-ing' me about, I told you that dude is a piece of shit."

"Don't call him that."

"I call a piece of shit, a piece of shit."

Ruby played with a few strands of her hair nervously. It was always like this. Yang and Blake usually never fought. They had their differences, sure, but they knew what buttons not to press on the other. They knew what to not make jokes about, as they were both quite sensible. Even Yang, who could be quite harsh, knew how to deal with people. Or at least she knew how to deal with Blake.

But as soon as it came to Adam, all this perfect "getting along" stuff went overboard without a life jacket and drowned pitifully. After that thing (Ruby really wasn't sure what to call it) with Adam happened, Yang and Blake had grown incredibly close, but Ruby still remembered how both girls had terrible fights occasionally. Ruby wasn't someone to avoid confrontation – rather, she would usually try to soothe the tides. But even she had decided to just hide in her room. Not that it helped much, as she could still hear them shouting at each other.

Unsure of what to do, as Nora was nowhere in sight and Weiss really seemed to be taking a while in the bathroom, she started looking through her rucksack. It held not just her game and novel, but also a heavy black book with thick yellowish paper and a little transparent bag with several pencil, erasers and a sharpener. Yang and Blake were once again caught up in their everlasting fight about Adam, so they wouldn't mind if Ruby just started doodling a bit. It was her way out of uncomfortable situations. When Ruby drew, she felt at ease and could check out. This way she didn't again have to listen to the debate over Adam.

"You are good."

Ruby stiffened, breaking the pencil lead in the process. Without her noticing, Weiss Schnee had begun looking over her shoulder at her sketchbook. She didn't seem to care much for personal space, as she was leaning in way too close. At least for Ruby's taste. Not that she usually minded, she herself was a pretty 'touchy-feely' person, as one might call it. But Weiss's hand that was placed on her shoulder made her shiver. Like that time Jaune had put snow down her collar. It was unbearable.

"Ahaha, just you know, doodles. I'm not like, serious." Ruby hated the quiver in her voice. But the frosty feeling down her spine made goosebumps spread all over her body. "Like, I just draw like as a hobby, haha." She must sound like a idiot. Yeah, a complete idiot.

"Oh really." Weiss straightened her back and returned to her seat. "Why? You could try make something out of it."

"I, maybe, but you know I always thought you have to be somehow special for that?" Ruby let out a shaky breath.

Those were her honest thoughts. Of course she had thought about that during all of her career planning, but she had always dismissed it. Making a career in art was hard, and only a few managed. Ruby knew that, and it wasn't like she was especially passionate about it. She just did it. She couldn't imagine not drawing, but she was sure that those few that made it had to be different. Special. Like they must have been doing nothing but drawing for all their life, and had a spiritual art journey through the mountains of Tibet, or a personal muse tied to them. Those people must be bursting with talent and creativity. Ruby certainly wasn't, like she knew two or three things Uncle Qrow had taught her, but that certainly wasn't enough.

"And you aren't special?" Weiss raised a single eyebrow at her. Her gaze fixed on Ruby who stared into her sketchbook.

"I dunno, I guess. I mean, I don't think so?" Ruby laughed and closed her sketchbook. Yang and Blake seemed to have ceased their argument and were now looking at her.

"I haven't seen you draw in a while. Do you still call your pencil 'Crescent Rose'?" She heard Blake giggle and she was sure that out of the corner of her eyes she saw Weiss smile.

"What? No! Yang, I was eleven!" Ruby cried out embarrassed.

Of course that had to come up. When she was eleven she had given her favourite mechanical pencil the name 'Crescent Rose'. Back then she had thought that was really cool. Yang loved to talk about that in front of others.

"I don't do that anymore!" Actually she still did that but there was no need for Yang to know that. And she already seemed immature enough in front of Blake and Weiss.

"I just wish Uncle Qrow would be home more often. I haven't had a lesson in ages." Huffed Ruby.

"Uncle Qrow?" Weiss asked, still looking at Ruby.

"Hmh, Uncle Qrow is my guardian and Yang's father."

"Oh, so you two.."

The blonde grinned. "Yup, technically we're cousins, but we've been together since we were itsy bitsy small." Yang made a gesture that was actually pretty large, but for some reason it still managed to underline her point. "So I bet we're closer than any sisters ever. Right, Ruby?"

Yang punched Ruby slightly in the shoulder who just laughed in return and punched her back.

"Yeah."

"Must be nice."

Ruby's lips let out a tiny 'ah' when she looked at Weiss's face. The girl's expression had not changed, it still looked like a icy mask. But for some reason Ruby found something mesmerizing in watching her sip at her tea, which certainly must have been cold by now. She didn't know why, but the same face that seemed incredibly distant just a second ago, the same scar that made her kinda scary, the same eyes that had made Ruby squirm in her seat – all of that suddenly felt lonely. The scar over her half closed eyes, the perfectly trimmed hair – it all made her feel fragile instead of fierce.

Ruby hold her breath. Weiss Schnee, in this moment as she silently sipped her tea, seemed so fascinatingly beautiful that Ruby was not quite sure what to do. She was sure she was staring and she was sure Weiss noticed. But she just couldn't help herself.

Suddenly Ruby yelped, a swift kick connecting with her shin.

"What the heck, Yang?!"

Yang just looked at her with furrowed brow, throwing her hands up in slight disbelief. Ruby blushed, shaking her head. When she met with Blake's eyes she had to lower her eyes in shame. Even Blake had noticed and was giving her a curious look.

"Ehehe." Ruby laughed to hide her embarrassment, asking herself what had gotten into her.

"Uncle Qrow is an art merchant. Though he he used to be an artist himself, never really successfully. They always said his art lacked spirit or something," Ruby explained. Uncle Qrow certainly was a better topic than her gaping at Weiss like a fish.

"He travels a lot so it's mostly just me and Yang, but when he's home he often gives me tips and stuff. Pretty cool."

"I see."

Ruby hated people that just answered like that, it was so hard to make conversation with them. Maybe they were like that because they didn't want to talk to her? Though if she didn't want to talk to them why was she here? Now that Ruby thought about it, why was the girl here anyway? Did Blake drag her here? No, it didn't seem Weiss would do anything she didn't want to. It that regard, Ruby assumed she might be similar to her sister.

"How is Uncle Qrow?" Blake asked. She had always gotten along well with him, having spent countless nights at their place, even though he wasn't there most of the time.

"Incredibly busy as always. It's a pain I tell you." Yang sighed. Most likely she was thinking about all the housework that awaited them at home.

"Tell him I said hi."

"Sure."

"Anywaaaay," Ruby said, the conversation the threatening to grow stale again. "What do you, you know, _do_, Weiss? Apart from singing, I mean."

"I study."

"That seems...fun?"

"It's only appropriate."

"Uhuh, what do you like study?"

"I'm mostly taught economic studies."

"Uhuh."

Ruby always took pride at being good at talking, even if some of it was absolute nonsense sometimes, she still was good at it! But this was terrible. First she ogled her and now all she could manage were "uh" and "huh" replies. Great going, Ruby told herself, real charming. Blake also didn't really seem like she wanted to help her out, and, well, Yang already said she didn't like Weiss, so she was completely on her own. But it seemed as though Weiss decided to take action against this horrible awkwardness herself. With a swift movement she looked at her watch, which looked way too expensive for Ruby's taste, nodded to herself, and then looked at Blake.

"I need to go. I will give you the money for my tea."

"Ah, it's fine. Let me - "

"You are not honestly trying to take the bill of a Schnee?" Weiss said, a dismissive laugh escaping her lips. She picked up her handbag, also too expensive in Ruby's eyes. Out of her wallet – also too expensive, Ruby was sure that girl must swimming in money - she got some coins and put them on the table, but along side the coins she also took out two tickets. Without a word she put them down in front of Ruby and Yang.

"I would be happy to have you come see the performance." Blake added as an explanation. Weiss nodded in approval and then got up. She took her coat and gave Yang and Ruby another nod.

"I will be leaving then."

Ruby looked after the girl, who had an astonishingly, Ruby wasn't sure how to put it, prideful walk. When she suddenly halted, Ruby quickly averted her eyes, afraid of being caught staring again. Without turning around, Weiss addressed Ruby.

"You should really think about it."

"Huh?"

"Seriously drawing. You are good at it. It would be a waste."

And with these words Weiss Schnee left the café, leaving Ruby staring at the exit long after the girl was gone.

* * *

Edited and made readable by Touzen.


	2. Chapter 2

"Never let her see you in those pants."

Ruby looked up from the book she was studying and was met by a bemused Blake. The old wooden library chair squeaked as Blake sat down. With mild interest she picked up one of the books in front of Ruby, 'Anatomy for Artists', and smiled.

"Wait what?" Ruby blinked.

"Weiss loathes sweatpants. I don't think there is anything she hates more."

Ruby lowered her eyes, unsure how she should respond.

Blake relieved her of that duty. "The 'no-life-pants' thing? I got that from her."

"That bad?"

"Yeah, she says that no matter wha,t one should always try to look their best."

"She's pretty, uhm...uptight?"

"That doesn't even begin to describe her. 'Stuck up her own ass', as Yang would say, fits it better." Blake laughed and set the book down. She looked over the rest of the scattered books. "Weiss really got to you, huh?"

"It's not like that-" Ruby's lips stopped in their tracks. She lowered her eyes, fixing her gaze on one of her books." I guess I just thought, hey maybe she has a point, you know?"

An image of Weiss and those exact thoughts had kept her up the past few days. The girl's gaze had burnt itself into her mind. She felt more useless than ever. Weiss couldn't be much older, but still gave off the impression of an adult. Of someone who knew what she wanted to do and was sure to get it. Ruby felt insecure, but there was also a nagging fascination nibbling at her that she couldn't shake.

"Say, Blake, how old is Weiss?"

"Hm, let me see," Blake tapped her chin in thought. Her head was slightly tilted, and she watched Ruby out of the corner of her eyes intently. "Hm, think she is 18."

"Ah." The younger girl bit her lip and pretended to quickly copy something out of one of the books. Colour theory, not really exciting, but to Ruby's own surprise the technical aspects didn't bother her as much as they used to when her Uncle first had tried to hammer theory in her head.

"Ruby, what is eating you? Yang is worried, too. You barely leave the house, not even to meet Jaune."

Slowly, Ruby forced herself to look into Blake's eyes.

"It's weird. I don't really know." She sighed, shaking her head in frustration. It was hard to explain something that for her just felt like a gigantic blob of uneasiness crawling at her chest.

"Blake how did you know what to do?"

"What to do?" A raised brow followed by a head tilt to the other side.

"You know after school and stuff."

"I just knew I would try to make music with Adam. There wasn't much of a question."

"Ah." Ruby fixed her gaze on her books again.

"But, you know, after that thing-" She made a wistful pause to make sure Ruby got what she had meant. "I didn't really know what to do either. I still don't know." Blake smiled, a finger gently tracing over the cover of a book.

"Like, I would be totally fine just spending my life here. Sorting books. But I don't think this will always work. There is so much about the future I can't plan - will I need to support a family? Will I always be content in my little one room apartment? Can the library always afford to pay me? I don't know." She shrugged. Her smile not even vanishing for a second.

"Basically all we can do is try things out and see what sticks. Live changes so fast. Sometimes I still wonder how I ended up here. After all, I always thought I would make music. I couldn't imagine something else."

Blake seemed to wait for a response. It took Ruby a while to scramble an answer together.

"It's just... I... everybody seems to know what they're doing. Or, at least they're doing _something_. I feel left behind. I've never felt so insecure, like, ever!"

She held her head in her hands and shuddered, just thinking about that pinching feeling that ran from down in her gut up to her chest. It was like going up a on roller coaster, slowly and steadily. But there was no release, no end to the rails going upwards.

"Listen, just try things out and see what sticks. And talk to your sister." Blake reached over the table and patted Ruby on the head. Eager to not let the conversation end on such a sour topic, Blake said while pulling back her hand, "Though, Weiss left quite an impression on you."

Ruby nodded, swallowing hard thinking about the girl.

"She is a rather strange one, I admit." Blake chuckled thinking about her abrasive friend.

"I like strange people."

Blake laughed. "Well, that's good then. I was a bit worried she scared you off."

Ruby vividly shook her head. "No way! She's interesting."

"I wish your sister would think the same. She didn't seem really taken with her."

"She just needs to warm up a bit." Ruby said, closing the book in front her.

"People generally don't warm up to Weiss." Blake seemed to remember a fond memory as she closed her eyes and let out an amused laugh. "She never got along with people."

"Why?" Ruby asked before she even realized that such a question was quite intimate.

"Weiss never really went to normal school. She had a lot of private teachers and was usually just surrounded with adults trying to keep a working atmosphere. That can mess a girl up a lot."

Ruby nodded, scratching her chin in thought.

"I think I am her only friend. Back then I tried to hang out with her and Adam together, but those two would always end up fighting." Blake said, opening her eyes to watch Ruby's reaction. "I remember one time, Weiss nearly broke his arm."

"What!? But she seems so, so..." Ruby stumbled a bit over what to say. "So not like that!"

"We were twelve. I don't even remember what it was about, but at some point I started crying and they stopped. Weiss has quite the temper sometimes."

Ruby swallowed. Weiss already scared her; imagining the girl _actually_ angry was terrifying.

"She mellowed out a bit though. The last few years she's basically just been studying, and when she isn't doing that she's been busy with vocal training. Her schedule and mine haven't fit at all. We mostly talk over the phone."

She leaned on the table, cupping her chin in her hand. Ruby quietly listened.

"I was quite surprised when she asked me to play for her."

"Did she know you weren't doing music any more?"

"Yeah, she insisted. It's kinda sad. With Adam out of the picture and her leaving for university soon. It's a little lonely."

Ruby nodded, she understood that feeling a little. With Jaune and Pyrrha making big plans for their lives, Nora apparently wanting to leave as soon as she had the money, and Ren being Ren god knew what he would do, but certainly something close to Nora - well, Ruby could relate.

"She said it would be her last time. Is she gonna stop singing?"

"Yes, she said she wanted to concentrate on her studies. I had a feeling her family asked her to stop, but after talking to them they themselves were quite surprised by her decision. I sometimes don't understand what's going on in her head."

"Hm."

"Though speaking of Weiss..." Blake smiled, her lips tugged up to a degree that Ruby rarely saw. It made her quite uncomfortable. "You can ask her all this yourself." Blake dug around in her jeans, only to fish out a small slip of paper from them. Ruby didn't need to look to know what it was.

"She asked me to give this to you."

"Why?" Ruby's mouth felt dry, her voice scratching and quivering as Blake gently put the slip of paper into her palm.

"If you ask me, she seemed a little interested in you. Maybe it's just one of her whims."

"A whim..." stammered Ruby, staring at paper on which Blake had written down some numbers.

"She has her moods. Entertain her for a bit. For me please?" After a pause. "Just send her a text or something and see if it sticks, okay?" She smiled and stood up.

"I...wait, where are you going?"

"Meeting your sister."

"What about work?"

"Ruby, it's Saturday."

"Ah."

Ruby now left alone stared at the slip in her hand. It felt like it was burning right through her palm.

"Ruby," Yang said, gaze fixed on street, her hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. "If you don't stop being so...ugh." Yang hitthe wheel with her fists and then putting her hands around it again with a tired sigh, Yang wanted nothing more than to just shake her sister.

"You would be nervous too! I know nothing about music except the little bit you taught me over the last few days, and everything's so formal! I don't do formal, Yang!"

"Well you're gonna have to, because we're gonna be there after a few streets. Seriously Ruby, what's gotten into you?"

Ruby shrugged and looked outside the window, rendering the conversation as over. The umbrella in her hand felt clammy, thankfully helping her to ignore her sweaty palm. She was beyond nervous. The little slip Blake had given her was safely tucked away between a few notebook pages. Wrestling with herself, she had typed out several different texts, never comfortable with actually sending one. Were smileys okay? Should she ask something? Should she use 'Hey', 'Hi' or 'Hello'? There were so many things to be considered. How would Weiss answer? Would she even bother?

God, and during all this she was still lying around at home wondering what to do with herself. She tried to concentrate on art, drawing, trying out new techniques, which were all pretty fun but nothing really stuck. When she was being honest with herself she really doubted she had the potential Weiss apparently saw. Her stuff wasn't bad, it just lacked something. It was the first time she'd forced herself to draw daily. Not just sometimes scribbling around. It drained her, and she just didn't know what she really wanted to achieve with it. What she wanted to draw.

Ruby didn't want to face Weiss.

"There it is." Yang pulled over.

The tiny theatre at the outskirts of the city has been restored and renovated several times, but it was still rather impressive. Ruby wondered how many people would attend. She had seen Yang perform a few times, but judging from the ticket this seemed to really just be Weiss's show. People came just to watch her. It seemed too outlandish. She wasn't much older than Ruby, but she held her own shows. Just thinking about this kind of pressure made Ruby's guts twitch and cramp. Holding presentations, being group leader, all those things felt natural, but putting on a whole performance all by herself…

Ruby shuddered.

The hall held around hundred people, at least that was Ruby's not very well educated and her sister found two free seats somewhere in the middle. The people were chatting vividly in little groups. Most of them of the older age range, dressed prim and proper. Ruby was glad she had bought formal clothes for her graduation, otherwise she would have felt way out of place. She was playing with the hem of her skirt when Yang, who had left to get something, came back to their seats. She threw a pamphlet in Ruby's lap.

"The program." After a shrug she continued. "Looking at the set list, she's going all classical on our ass. Though she should've just gotten some string players instead of a pianist. What is that girl thinking?"

"Hm." Ruby skimmed over the song list. "Can she handle this?"

"Dunno. She's going all out with this. She chose songs just to show off her range and skill. Wants to make a lasting impression, I guess."

"Hm," was all she could respond. Quietly she wondered who Weiss wanted to impress.

As if on cue, the audience started to settle down. Ruby recognized a lot of the older folk from town, but there were also quite a few people she was sure she had never seen. She was kinda impressed by how many people attended; almost all the chairs were taken.

"It's gonna start soon," Yang mumbled. "Ruby? You okay? You look kinda blue."

"Nah, I'm good. Just nervous."

Her sister laughed. "Why? You aren't going on stage." She hit her in the shoulder.

"I don't know. Feels weird." The seam of her skirt against her fingertips became almost painful.

Deep in her gut something was turning upside down – something which might or might not have been her dinner. It also might have risen up to her chest, making it hard to breath. It was a nostalgic feeling of stormy October nights, of the change of seasons. It clenched its frosty hand around her neck. It was the feeling one had in the evening, driving in a car, watching the yellow street lights reflecting in puddles. Knowing that something was going to change, or maybe that something had already changed. Every second passed by teasingly. Ruby shut her eyes.

When she opened them again, Weiss Schnee and Blake were on stage. She could hear the rain from outside, hear it hammering on the roof and against the windows. A weird rhythm, wild, without much control, like the drums in a secret ritual. The girl clad in pure white stepped forward. Not a single taint on her – nothing could have possible tainted her in Ruby's eyes. The fingernails of the dark haired girl were now burying themselves deep into her own skin.

The rain seemed to become even louder, almost unbearable. She wondered how Weiss would be able to sing over all the thundering noise from outside. That clenching feeling in her gut slowly crawled up her spine, through her chest, hurting her with every breath until it reached her throat. Ruby thought she might burst right then and there, that everything would just rip open. The anticipation for whatever was about to come would just tear her apart. She was so terrified and she didn't know why.

Then in that moment, Weiss spoke. Her voice was clear like cold mountain water, the tender morning dew dripping from a leaf. It washed over Ruby. She shivered. The piano that started to play felt distant and faint – she barely even noticed it. Ruby was too busy slowly drowning.

Her sister was talking with Blake about the performance. After Weiss had sung the last note, the hall became quite busy. Ruby could see the girl surrounded by a group of people four times her age, congratulating the girl on her wonderful voice and perfect performance. A man, tall and proud, stood by her side. His hand was resting on her shoulder. A woman was to her other side, a hand gently rubbing Weiss's arm. There was no doubt they were her parents. It was obvious where Weiss got her looks from. All three of them, Ruby noticed, where exceptionally beautiful. During her life Ruby had met many people – cute people, handsome people, simply attractive people – but none had made her feel like this. She had never imagined that she would describe a man as beautiful, but Weiss's father was just that. Daughter and father had an uncanny likeness. Her gaze went back and forth between them, lasting on Weiss always a little more, a little longer.

"The Schnee family is quite something," she heard Blake say.

"Yeah, no kidding. Stupid, pretty, rich folk," muttered Yang.

"Ah! They're looking back at us!" Ruby squeaked, tugging at her sisters sleeve.

"Yeah, seems like they're coming over."

Ruby quickly stared at her shoes, a little spot of dust glaring back at her. Out of the corner of her eyes she could the Schnee family approach them. Shoulders pulled up to her ears, she tried to hide behind Blake and Yang. The little slip of paper she had back at home was painfully coming back to her. Would Weiss mention it?

"Ah, Blake! You were wonderful, dear." Weiss's mother hugged and kissed Blake. The almost ridiculously handsome man exchanged a friendly nod with a smile.

"If I may," Blake said, casually waving toward Ruby and her sister. "This is Yang Xiao Lang and her sister Ruby Rose. They are dear friends of mine."

To Ruby's surprise Weiss's father laughed. It was a hearty laugh, a bit rusty, deep and scratchy. He reminded her a bit of her uncle. It invited one to laugh along with him. Ruby wondered what Weiss's laugh would sound like.

"We have heard. It's a pleasure. Reiner Schnee, Weiss's father."

Ruby was a bit hesitant to shake the man's hand, scared he would notice her sweaty palms. His large hands and delicate fingers were cool to the touch, but not unpleasant. His skin felt strangely rough, like that of a working man. A deep scar graced his cheek.

"This is my wife, Helena." A quick gesture to his wife, followed by a warm smile. This man radiated charisma.

"Well, and of course you know our daughter, Weiss."

Smiling ever so slightly, Weiss gave a small nod. "I hope you enjoyed the performance."

"Definitely!... I mean you were great! Blake, too, of course." Ruby stumbled a bit over her words, a tender colour spreading to her cheeks. Not due to embarrassment, but because she was excited.

"I must admit, you kinda hit it outta the park," Yang said.

"I am glad." Weiss relaxed, her stiff shoulders slackening slightly, but not enough to make her posture seem sluggish.

Ruby shook her head. "Nuh uh, no need, you were awesome. Really. Like, I don't know much about this music stuff, but you were sooo cooooool!" She grabbed Weiss's hands. "Your voice is just amazing."

A slight pull from Weiss, the sound of her shoes clicking as she made a surprised step backwards, snapped Ruby out of it.

"Uh, I mean, I really liked it." Quickly she let go, hiding her hands behind her back.

"Good to see such enthusiastic people." Reiner chuckled, small wrinkles expanding over his face. "I too, do not know much about this 'music stuff'." Ruby swore she could have seen him winking at her.

"_Liebling_, we have been trying for years. Music is not that hard!" His wife stepped closer to him, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"I would prefer to just enjoy listening to our _Prinzesschen."_

"Prinzesshhen?" Ruby's mouth worked faster than her thoughts.

"It means little princess," Blake explained.

"He will never stop calling me that," Weiss said looking at her father, one eyebrow pulled into a disapproving frown.

"I think it's cute," Blake remarked. "Also, anybody who ever saw you without your heels would agree."

Ruby's eyes were immediately drawn to the girls feet. Seeing how she was around Ruby's height with those almost ridiculous heels, she quickly realized that Weiss was actually a good few inches shorter than her. Weiss seemed to notice her gaze. She snorted. A rather unladylike action that Ruby didn't expect.

"Tch, I have a rather delicate build, it's true." Her words were followed by a dismissive hand. "It's more about how you carry yourself than height."

Ruby wondered if the girl was trying to make a jab at her, but couldn't really tell. Though if height was no issue, she wouldn't wear heels of the length of her index finger.

"Yes and we all know how mature you are, _meine Liebe_. I would like to remind you of your last concert." Reiner chuckled.

This was the third time Ruby had heard them use German words, and she wondered if it was a rich people thing. Looking back at Weiss's face, which now sported a warm pink and a rather amusing expression, Ruby felt like she was being introduced to a completely different girl than the one she met over a cup of warm cocoa. She seemed less guarded, as if the presence of her family eased her out of her overly controlled behaviour. People were always like that around their family, Ruby realized. She was less scary with her parents around.

"Oh, do tell." Blake said, a twinkle shining in her eyes, ready to hear favourite kind of stories. The ones that made Weiss squirm like a fish without water.

Ruby looked over to her sister, who was observing the scene carefully. Both of them were intruding on a conversation they weren't really part of. If Yang had any doubt left that Weiss was a long time friend of Blake's, they would have been washed away by the familiarity between Blake and the Schnee family.

"I would rather not," Weiss huffed, arms crossed in front of her chest.

"But it was such a joy to watch," Helena noted, a hand barely hiding her wide smile. "I wish we could have recorded it."

"Like usual Blake," Reiner explained, eager to tell an embarrassing episode of his daughter in front of her friends. Ruby knew that all parents took pleasure in doing so. She had lost count of the times Uncle Qrow had told the stories of Yang and Ruby's first baking attempts.

"These old gruffy man tried to introduce their boys to her. You know how these business people are..." He took a deep breath, looking slightly exhausted.

"Oh, I like where this is going," Yang said, deciding to not be bothered by her outsider status. This was usual for her – since she was young she'd been a rather noisy social butterfly. As soon as something even remotely caught her interest, she went up in fire and flames.

"So dear Weiss was getting..." Helena searched for words, short giggles escaping her lips. "...rather aggravated by the situation. So she screamed, and I quote -"

"I did no such thing!" Weiss cut in, her cheeks colored in a tender red.

"I just... casually remarked..." She wrestled with her words, helplessly trying to make the best out of the situation. She sighed. "...that I do not particularly..." Another sigh followed. "...have an interest in men." She huffed, hands on her hips, eyes fixed on the ground.

"Oh!" Ruby blushed, feeling rather embarrassed. If she were in Weiss's shoes, she wouldn't want to have anybody casually talking and joking about her sexuality. Especially not in front of people she barely knew, like herself and Yang. Ruby found it rather mean.

"Holy shit! You're gay?"

"Yang!" Ruby hit her sister. "That's mean!" Ruby stopped for a moment, rather uncomfortable with the situation. "I mean, if I were...you know what... I wouldn't want people to joke about it."

"It's fine. My parents have have always been like this." Weiss sighed. Her father laughed and laid a hand on her shoulder. Realizing she probably never had seen someone so proud of his child, Ruby relaxed a little.

"We never thought of it as much of an issue. We would rather talk and joke about it than play pretend. Also, Weiss never made much of an effort to hide it. Some like ketchup, some like mayo."

Ruby stumbled a bit. "Yeah! Like, I don't mind! Girls liking girls! Or, well, boys liking boys, or liking both! It's awesome, I mean cool." Were they really talking casually about sexuality in the middle of so many people? A rather weird ice breaker.

She rambled on. "Like, I think it's cool to be open about it. I like, had this huuuuuge crush on this friend of mine, Pyrrha, I even fought with my best friend over her. So it's not like it's weird or anything!"

Reiner laughed. "Well that's good then." His wife joined him and for a second, Ruby didn't feel like an outsider at all. They were welcoming and warm. In stark contrast to their daughter, who had felt cool and distant.

"Ohhhhh, that's why you almost broke Jaune's nose!" Yang slapped her sister on the back several times, as if to congratulate her for a great achievement. "I'm proud of you."

Ruby felt like her head would explode from the rising heat.

"That brings me back." Helena leaned on her husband, deep in thought. "Remember when Adam and Weiss were constantly at each others throat?"

"Mother no, Mother please," Weiss begged, desperate to at least to keep a bit of her dignity.

With a smug smile Blake said ."Oh, I do. Thinking about it now, it's rather amusing," She reminded Ruby a bit of her sister.

"Don't tell me..." Yang was getting almost too excited.

"I was nine."

"If only it had worked out. What I would give to have Blake in the family."

"Mister Schnee, please. You flatter me."

"Woah, woah. You never told me about this, Blake!"

"Well, there isn't much to say," Weiss interrupted before it could get out of hand. Which it already had, but she wouldn't be Weiss Schnee if she didn't try to save a little face.

"How cruel." Blake giggled. "You did, after all, take my first kiss."

"Yes, and after that Adam came in and nearly punched me in the face."

"Now, now Weiss." Reiner interjected well-meaningly. "If I remember correctly, you dislocated his arm first."

"This is too good." Yang's smile reached her ears.

"Could we just change topics!" Weiss voice sounded almost shrill, though it didn't seem as if she was actually mad.

"I would rather not, teasing you will always be a pleasure of mine," Blake said.

Ruby was a bit astonished by all this information. She liked learning more about Weiss, as well as hearing more of Blake's childhood, but it felt bizarre. Talking about such intimate things on the second meeting. It felt like talking with old friends, the way she felt when hanging out with Jaune. Ruby felt welcome, and wondered why she had been so nervous in the first place. Sure, the Schnee family was obviously filthy rich, and they seemed completely out of her league, but talking to them she realized they were just like Yang, Uncle Qrow, and herself.

"You dislocated his arm? Good job, Weiss. I think I need to change my opinion of you."

"Please, can we let this go."

Reiner Schnee laughed and just ruffled his daughters hair.

"Don't!" Weiss crossed her arms in front of her chest, an adorable pout gracing her lips.

.

"Well, as my daughter seems to be in good company..." He trailed off and looked over to a group of men in fancy suits who seemed to be just waiting to get at him, like starving animals. "I need to go and have boring business talk. Even if I would rather stay here and enjoy messing with my daughter."

Helena linked her arm in his. "It was nice to make your acquaintance. "

As both adults left, Ruby heard her sister take a deep breath.

"Who would have known? One of the richest people in the country...and he's really down to earth?"

"Well, I am sorry if we didn't meet your expectations."

Ruby's head whipped back and forth in confusion. "Wait, wait, wait, richest people in the country?"

"Ruby, don't tell me you didn't realize who you were talking to." Yang's voice dropped to a whisper. "Please, Ruby." She shook her head in utter disbelief.

"Uh...Weiss's parents?"

Yang started laughing, and Blake giggled, barely keeping her voice down. Weiss simply looked like someone just told her one plus one made four.

"You don't know who I am?"

"Weiss Schnee?"

Her sister's laugh almost became manic, and she began hitting Ruby's shoulder. "Ruby, Schnee as in the German company."

"_Schnee_ Schnee!?"

"How many rich families named Schnee do you know?"

"But they have to be like super rich! Why would they be here!?" They had become rather loud, attracting disapproving glances from the other guests.

Weis explained shrugging slightly. "This is a rather nice town. Our factories are close, and we prefer not to parade our money around."

"But you're like, normal!?"

"Why, thank you."

"Ruby, why do you think I doubted that Blake knew them?"

"I just...", Ruby left her head hanging.

"You dolt, you are currently talking to the heiress of Schnee." Weis huffed, rolling her eyes.

"I didn't know they lived here!" she cried in a desperate attempt to defend herself.

"You know that gigantic mansion outside town? Guess who owns that." Yang was still giggling.

"Oh my god, really?" Ruby hadn't driven by it often, but that house was an impressive sight to behold, with a beautiful rose garden easy to spot through the high fences. She had always wondered what kind of people lived there.

"Can I come over sometime!?" Ruby always had been easily excited, her embarrassment forgotten.

"Eh, yes, certainly."

"The house parties must be the burner." Ruby's sister stroked her chin in thought, perhaps already planning on taking advantage of their new friend.

"The only parties held there likely aren't your kind," the heiress answered Yang. She didn't even bother to hide the dismissive tone in her voice.

Glancing at Ruby, she then said, "But I certainly wouldn't mind people visiting." Weiss paused, playing with a strand of hair. "Blake, you too. You haven't been there in what feels like years. My parents would be glad, too."

Blake nodded forcing herself to smile. It didn't seem she was that keen to go there.

"Soooo," Yang grinned from ear to ear, leaning over to Weiss. "We gonna crash Weiss's place after this, huh?"

"I would rather not have such," she looked at Yang, clicking her tongue. "Noisy company tonight. This evening was rather exhausting."

She looked at Ruby, and she seemed a bit more like the girl Ruby had met in the cosy café awhile ago. Unattainable, and with enough self-esteem for a whole nation. Like the heiress with more than enough money to buy a small country that she was. It fascinated Ruby.

"I actually feel like retiring for the night already. Though it's still raining." Another click of her tongue. She seemed rather thoughtful. "Ruby?"

Her own name felt odd in her ears. It sounded nothing like the way Yang, her uncle, or anyone had ever said it. Was this the first time the girl had addressed her by her name?

"Did you bring an umbrella?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"Then I would like you to accompany me to my car."

It wasn't a question, and if it was Ruby didn't even consider declining the request. She hurried to the entrance to get her umbrella, and then went outside with Weiss, avoiding the gaze of her sister.

The cold October wind felt refreshing after the stuffy hall, the rain playing a soothing melody on her umbrella. The wind carried a few raindrops into their faces, making them squint a bit. Weiss walked close to her, the white haired girl's shoulder slightly touching her own. She felt rather fragile in the midst of this rather stormy night, like the wind would just take her somewhere far away. The feeling that had tortured her before the concert had come crawling back, slightly grasping at her ankle. They avoided a few puddles, which were reflecting the simmering street lights.

Way too soon, they had reached the girl's car. It was a rather normal car for such a rich girl, Ruby noted. She had expected something more extravagant. Awkwardly, she stood there in front of Weiss. Something tied her tongue painfully back in her throat. Weiss didn't seem to notice, she just simply stared at her with those fierce eyes. Her white clothes, pale skin, and pure hair lifted her from the dark and muddy scenery. Again, Ruby noted how beautiful the girl was. Far more so than her father or mother. There was something entrancing about her.

"You didn't call."

"Huh?" For a moment, Ruby had forgotten that slip of paper. "I... didn't really kno-"

"It's alright. It must have been rather sudden," Weiss said, putting her hand on the cold surface of the car.

"No, really! I just..." Ruby shifted her weight back and forth uncomfortably. "I was a bit surprised, that's all! Though..." She looked at Weiss, blood rushing to her head, feeling rather light. "Why did you give me your number?"

Weiss's gaze met her own. It felt like her nervousness was getting sucked out of her; all that was left was the same awe she had felt listening to the girl's voice.

"Do I need much of a reason?" Weiss was dodging the question. Not very smoothly, but she didn't waver a second.

"No, I guess not." Ruby scratched the back of her head with her free hand. She couldn't look away from Weiss; she didn't really want to, but something told her she should be running back to her sister. That something dangerous was happening. All of her senses told her to run from this girl with these fierce unwavering eyes. She had gone back to the girl Ruby had met a week ago, but the change wasn't sudden or unexpected. It was rather fascinating.

"I...actually..." Ruby took a big breath, pulling her shoulders back. "...I...looked more into drawing."

"Oh, did you?"

"Yeah, and man," she laughed. "It really isn't easy..."

"Nothing is."

Ruby let out an agreeing hum. "I just don't know what I really wanna draw."

"What you want to draw?"

"Yeah, like, everybody wants to achieve something, right? I don't know what I wanna achieve with my drawing."

"Hm." A melodic sound escaped the girls lips. Ruby noted that Weiss hadn't applied any fancy lipstick like she had originally thought. Her lips seemed to posses a natural healthy red, that many girls would envy her for. But Ruby didn't. She just admired them.

"But like, I don't really know what I wanna like, achieve in life in general. So I really dunno." Ruby laughed. She didn't know what she was doing **– **not in this moment while speaking with Weiss, nor in general. Over the last few months she'd barely recognized herself.

"It's worth thinking about."

"Yeah."

Weiss fished a key out of her bag. "Thanks for coming today."

"Nah, I had a great time. Who knew music could be this cool."

As Weiss moved to open the door of her car, Ruby felt like she had to say something.

"Sorry I didn't call you."

"I said it's fine."

"Um, would it be cool if I like called you tomorrow or something?" Ruby still couldn't take her eyes off her. "Like just to chat and stuff."

"To chat and stuff?" Weiss said, and paused. Maybe she was thinking, or maybe she just wanted to make the moment last longer. She smiled. "I would like that."

Ruby felt she'd found an answer just now, even if she didn't know for what.

* * *

Reiner is a common name for middle aged german, pretty old-fashioned.  
Together with Schnee as in reiner Schnee it means pure snow.

Again edited by Touzen.


	3. Chapter 3

Soaked to the bone, Ruby stood in front of the gates to the Schnee Estate. Ten minutes of walking through gigantic puddles and mud from a remote bus station took her to the rather pompous mansion. The bus left every hour, and apart from the gas stop somewhere along the way, there was nothing but trees. Ruby had driven by here quite a few times, as it was one of the major roads out of town, but so far she had never walked down that tiny little path leading up to the estate.

The tall trees loomed over her, but didn't really protect her from the downpour that had begun sometime after she'd gotten on the bus. Naturally Ruby didn't bring an umbrella, so all she had was her red hoodie to shield herself. Feeling her nose twitching, ready to start running, she pulled the hood deep over her face. Not that it helped much. Branches cracked under her boots as she walked up to the impressive mansion, and she wondered what laid beyond that path in the woods that surrounded it. Suddenly spending time in a remote mansion with nothing but trees around it, devouring all sound, seemed less exciting than before.

It was too late to turn back anyway. The bus was already gone and she wasn't really that keen on standing in the rain for much longer. Standing in front of the gates, she tried to peer between the unyielding bars, the cold metal pressing against her cheeks. She'd never been close enough to see much more than the white manor. After a few years of abandonment, this would have made the perfect place to shoot one of those horror movies Yang used to force her to watch.

Maybe she should have told her sister that she was coming here. It wasn't like there was any reason _not_ to tell Yang that she would be visiting the young Schnee heiress. Yeah, except that Yang would never shut up and would tease her until her hair greyed.

After realizing that she would be standing there until tomorrow if she didn't make a move, Ruby looked around some more and then decided to press the fancy door bell. After two minutes, she wondered if she had pressed hard enough. She didn't hear anything, nor were there any signs of reaction. The door bell_ did_ seem rather rusty. Huffing, she pressed again, harder and longer this time. Once again, nothing. She pressed again. Maybe it was broken? Ruby kept her thumb on the button, frowning.

"Stop!" screeched Weiss's voice throughout the speaker. Ruby almost jumped, and instantly stopped pressing the doorbell. She wondered if Weiss's voice sounded so distorted because of the rather rusty speaker or anger. She hoped for the former.

"May I ask who this is?"

For a second, Ruby wondered if she should just not answer, and maybe even run. Weiss would think some stupid kid was playing a prank and Ruby could have a do over ten minutes later. Or maybe never.

"It's me, Ruby."

But Weiss was expecting her, and a tactical retreat – Ruby would rather put it like that – was not a realistic option anyway.

"I will open the gates." Weiss said, the anger vanishing, her voice returning to being rather monotone. Though the younger girl could have sworn she heard a rather annoyed sigh.

Well if _this _wasn't a great start, Ruby thought as she dragged herself through the rose garden that led up to the manor. It must have looked impressive before the rain and wind had tormented it. As she reached the marble steps, the heavy wooden doors in front of her opened. Behind them, Weiss seemed rather small, and she was already adorably tiny without her heels, anyway. As always she was dressed trimly, not that Ruby minded. Weiss was pretty, she kinda liked that, even if her spruce appearance made her feel a bit inadequate at times.

The subtle frown vanished from Weiss's features as Ruby came to halt in front of her. "You're drenched!"

Ruby giggled, feeling rather embarrassed. In Weiss's eyes she must look stupid in her flaming red hoodie, soaked to the core, clenching her backpack to her chest. Ruby didn't dare look at her, so she stared down at her boots. Oh look, a wet leaf had gotten stuck in her shoelaces. How interesting.

"Come_ in_."

She felt a gentle tug at her shoulder and she stumbled into the mansion. Her breath hitched when she saw her muddy boots stain the carpet.

"Take off your shoes and wait here," Weiss ordered, not leaving much room for a response before darting off.

Trying not to move much more, to avoid leaving even more dirt on the beautiful red carpet, Ruby sat down and tried to concentrate on unlacing her boots. She knew if she looked around too much, she would get even more awkward. Rather than, awkward, overwhelmed might be a better word. Ruby still wasn't really sure how she'd gone from moping around in her room to sitting on the floor in the Schnee Estate. Fixing her gaze on the knot of her laces, her mind wandered to the evening that had led to this.

After the performance she had to endure two days of jokes and jabs until Ruby finally had decided to take out the little note Blake had given her. It took her almost an hour before she had hammered the number into her phone, adding it to her contacts. It took her another couple of hours to write out an awkward text message. Another hour to actually send it.

By then it was already eleven o'clock in the evening and Ruby fell on her bed exhausted like she had just ran a marathon. Dozing off, still in her jeans and shirt, she almost fell out of her bed when her phone started to ring. Confused, she had picked it up and stared at it for a almost a minute. The display clearly had said Weiss Schnee, but that clearly must have been wrong, because Weiss Schnee was _clearly_ not calling her.

"Hello?" Ruby almost whispered into her phone after she had picked up the call with hesitant fingers.

"I don't do texts." Weiss's voice sounded brash as ever, not even an ounce of insecurity.

"Oh."

"They are impersonal and leave room for misunderstandings."

Ruby liked texts. They were quick and short. Safe and not scary. You could keep in touch easily and share your thoughts. Often she would just send one with some random thought she had. Jaune especially would often receive messages out of the blue - everything from 'I want cookies, cooooookies' to, 'Dude, dude, are you watching TV? You gotta watch this!' to random outbursts of 'OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH'.

In her defence, she was not nearly as bad as Nora. That girl was constantly updating people on things they definitely didn't want to hear. She also had the habit of sending people random videos of cute little animals. Ruby liked those the best, and sometimes she would stay up the whole night exchanging adorable pictures and videos with Nora, always trying to one up them in terms of cuteness. For some reason Ruby had the feeling Weiss would not appreciate those kind of messages though.

Lost in thought and thinking about cute little kittens stumbling around, Ruby held the phone to her ear. She really didn't know what to say. With Jaune she would just ramble and dump all her thoughts on the boy, who would just listen and then start telling her about how he totally ace'd some dungeon in the game he was playing. Often they would just play video games without even saying much. She and Nora would just giggle and goof around in a way one could only do with Nora, rolling around on her bed included. Usually she would speak with Pyrrha about school, teachers, Yang, something stupid Jaune did, and everything in between.

They'd all known each other for years, so it was just completely different to talk with them. The amount of inside jokes, shared memories were ridiculous. Ruby was now in unknown waters. A text was easy, but actually speaking to Weiss? She didn't know what she liked, what her daily routine was like. Well, she knew she was stupidly rich, didn't have a lot of friends, was into music, was home taught and – in midst of her thoughts, Ruby realized that she hadn't heard most of this information from Weiss herself. Much of what she knew was through Weiss's parents or Blake.

The line was still quiet. How long had she been in thought? This was bad. Terrible even.

"So, um," Ruby bit her lip, trying her best to come up with something. She couldn't. There were millions of things she wanted to ask her, two million stories she wanted to tell her, but she felt silly mentioning even one. And the last thing she wanted to do was look silly in front of Weiss.

"What are you thinking about?" Weiss asked suddenly. Her voice was oddly quiet, maybe even a tad shy.

Ruby hesitated.

"_Here_." Weiss ripped Ruby out of her thoughts and suddenly there she was, back she was in the mansion. A soft towel, softer than any Ruby had ever had, stretched out to her.

"Thanks."

Taking the towel, Ruby ruffled it through her hair making sure to get every spot dry. She then rubbed her face, enjoying how the towel felt against her skin. It smelt nice, unlike the mansion which lacked any kind of distinct smell. It was weirdly clean. The walls were all blank, painted in a sterile white. She looked up at Weiss. The girl stood with her back turned to Ruby, waiting, looking off into the hallway. She shifted from one foot to the other, her hands tightly clasped behind her back.

"Um, Weiss, your towel." Ruby got up and poked Weiss in the shoulder. The girl whirled around and ripped the towel out of her hands.

"Ah, sorry, you startled me." Weiss explained, avoiding looking straight at Ruby. Out of the corner of her eye, Weiss took a peek at the girl in front of her. A short chuckle escaped her lips, and she quickly raised a hand to stifle it. Lost, Ruby stared at her.

After clearing her throat, Weiss furrowed her brows, trying to appear as scolding and condescending as possible.

"Your hair. It looks ridiculous." With her arms folded in front of her chest and a a smirk on her lips Weiss looked at her. It might have seemed rude if she didn't had tilt up her head ever so slightly, but for some reason Ruby didn't mind.

A wide grin spreading all over her face, Ruby shook her head, making her hair whip and dance around on her head.

"Better now?"

"No, not really." She sighed, but a small, honest smile slowly crept onto her features. "Come, I will lend you some dry clothes and get some order on your tousle-head."

Ruby pouted.

The mansion felt empty, too large, with not much occupying it. Ruby followed Weiss like a little duckling follow its mother, setting one foot awkwardly in front of the other, her gaze curiously wandering around. She hadn't known what to expect, but instead of being impressed, she felt rather cold. The heating was fine, but the occasional decoration, like a lonely vase or painting seemed so forced and impersonal. A depressing silence weighing on Ruby's heard.

"The maids are out today," Weiss explained, glancing out of the corner of her eyes.

"You have maids!? That's soo cooool. Do they wear cute dresses and little hats!?" Ruby began bouncing up and down. She had never seen a real one, only in television or manga. And if those were anything to go by maids were _awesome_, and also secretly assassins. Though Ruby realized the last part was probably unrealistic.

Weiss came to a halt and stared, her mouth gaping slightly. "Actually," she began uncomfortably. "I was trying to make a joke. We don't keep maids."

"Oh." Ruby stared at her feet. A mix of disappointment and embarrassment rose in her. From the slight blush on Weiss's cheeks she must have felt similar, maybe minus the let down about the lack of maids.

"We do have housekeepers and a gardener though." Weiss said, trying to save the situation. How showing off her status was supposed to help wasn't clear to Ruby, perhaps not even to herself.

"A gardener, huh?" Ruby's thoughts trailed off to the rather messy rose garden, and once again she wondered how it might had looked under a more friendly sky.

"Yes, he is wonderful. I am very thankful for his work." Weiss smiled as she begun walking again. "He is very talented with his hands."

Wait a second, Ruby thought, was Weiss doing one of Yang's lame innuendos? It sounded like it, though Ruby wouldn't have guessed that Weiss had such a sense of humour. It didn't fit her image at all, but there was a lot about Weiss that Ruby hadn't expected and she _had_ missed the maid joke earlier. Also, Weiss was still a teenager, and all teenagers crack stupid jokes like that, right? Deciding that there was only one way to know for sure, Ruby asked.

"Did you just make a dirty joke?"

"What? No!" Weiss forgot her namesake and burned scarlet. "How could you even!?" She looked like someone who had bitten into a cookie, only to find out their sister had secretly replaced the sugar with salt. Or when your best friend tries alcohol for the first time and throws up on your feet.

"Well," Ruby scratched her right cheek and tried her best to give Weiss an apologetic smile. Truth be told, Weiss's violent reaction was rather amusing. To hell with Nora's cute animal videos, this was _way_ better. "I missed the maid joke. So I wanted to make sure, I guess?"

"No, I did not," Weiss snapped back.

Aw man, I made her angry, Ruby cursed herself, though in the back of her head she thought seeing that cute reaction had been totally worth it.

Abrupt still not looking at Ruby, Weiss halted in front of one of the many doors on the first level of the mansion. This wing had three more doors which all looked the same, only this one had a rather childish sign on it. Splattered with colours, it read Weiss's name in crooked letters, the way only someone who had just learned to write could manage. Sitting under them, was something that might have been a white and a black cat, if Ruby guessed righ. Age had taken it's toll on the silly sign, but it seemed well taken care of. Weiss followed Ruby's gaze.

"Ah. Yes, it is rather immature, isn't it?" The girl smiled.

A smile Ruby hadn't seen often, or at _all_ on the other's face. It seemed nostalgic and almost gentle. It was subtle and rather fragile, but so much more powerful than its size first led one to assume. Ruby swallowed a knot in her throat. It reminded her of the first rays of sun after heavy snowfall. She was sure people, especially her sister, would laugh at such childish and cheesy thoughts.

"No, not at all." Ruby smiled back at Weiss.

"Blake made it for me when she first came here," the heiress explained as she opened the door. "She said that it was scary how all the doors looked the same. I barely remember though, since I was really small. So far I just haven't had the heart to change it."

"I like it." Ruby said. "It's cute and it really does make this place less scary."

Ruby was rather taken aback by Weiss's room. It was tidy and clean, like the room of a future big-shot CEO had to be, but it didn't feel as icy as the rest of the mansion. The desk, while well-organized, everything apparently well sorted though. A surprising army of stuffed animal majestically were throned on a shelf dedicated just to them. Quite a few also seemed to have taken the bed hostage. There weren't a lot of colours, as Weiss really seemed to be taken with keeping everything in theme with her name, but it looked quite nice, even if Ruby personally wasn't so fond of white. It got way too dirty way too quickly when playing around. The number of ruined dresses over the years spoke for themselves.

If this had been anybody else's room, Ruby would have jumped onto the gigantic bed in a heartbeat. Even with it's plushy occupants, it looked so inviting that Ruby just wanted to dive under the blanket and curl up in sheer bliss. It took her quite a bit to resist that urge, especially after Weiss told her to sit down on it.

"Wait a moment, I will get you some dry clothes." With that said, the girl vanished behind one of the two doors and left Ruby alone under the watchful eyes of her plush toys.

Ruby didn't dare move, her butt firmly pressed into the mattress and her hands aimlessly stroking the incredibly soft sheets. She wondered what it would be like to sleep in those. Like being covered in a lot of fluffy marshmallows, maybe? Ruby envied Weiss a bit for being able to sleep every night in this dream of white linen.

Ruby's hands stopped immediately. Weiss slept every night in these and she was rubbing her hands all over them. Hastily she folded her hands in her lap. They felt clammy and sweaty. Ruby swallowed, her eyes darting around the room to find a distraction. Her gaze came to rest on the little drawer beside the bed. An open book, a heavy hardcover, bound in stoic leather, rested on top of it. The pages had turned slightly yellow, the corners blunt down from use. Beside it, a rather plain mobile phone rested on a little charger stand. It looked rather cheap, probably it barely managed colours.

Looking at it, Ruby thought back to the first call she had with Weiss.

"What are you thinking about?"

Ruby remembered almost if her brain had simply recorded it. Weiss's voice had suddenly lost any kind of fierceness or edge. She had sounded like a girl her age. Soft-spoken even. Now sitting on her bed, Ruby wondered if Weiss had been sitting right at this spot as they talked. Maybe playing with her toes or her hair, with that adorable rosy colour spreading from the tip of her nose to her cheeks. What kinda Pjs did Weiss wear? Ruby's fingers started to again trail the soft sheets, barely touching this time.

They had talked quite awhile. Ruby had just rambled, telling Weiss how nervous she'd been receiving the call. A long awkward pause followed, which made Ruby feel silly. So silly in fact, that she started giggling. Suddenly this whole thing seemed incredibly stupid to Ruby. Weiss had given Ruby her number so she could call, so they could 'chat and stuff', and now she could barely choke out words.

Taking a deep breath and all of the courage she had, Ruby had begun to talk. She started with mundane things. About her everyday, her friends, Yang, whatever came to her mind. Weiss proved to be quite a good listener. An occasional comment, a few remarks calling her 'dolt' or 'idiot'' in between, but through all of it, Ruby liked to imagine Weiss was amused by her stories. Smiling even.

And as Ruby had gone on, Weiss, too, started to speak more, fondly recalling memories of growing up alongside Blake, with a rather angry side dish of Adam. She would talk about her teachers, about her lessons, about the book she was reading, about what she did aside from being the heiress of a million heavy company. She seemed so much less scary like that. Talking to her over the phone was so easy, Ruby felt silly that she had been so hesitant.

When Weiss came back, Ruby was still lost in thought, still trailing the folds of the sheets with her fingers.

"Here, I hope they fit."

Ruby was relieved to see that Weiss seemed to posses clothing in colours other than chalk white. Actually she was rather surprised to see a red cardigan among them. So far they had met three times, and every time Ruby had worn something red. Had Weiss noticed and picked the cardigan on purpose? It was rather obvious that she had an affinity for red, just looking at her name said enough, but it was still a rather nice gesture. Making a mental note of it, she decided to not mention it.

Not giving another thought to Weiss's choice of clothing, Ruby pulled her hoodie and T-Shirt over her head.

"W-what are you doing!?" Weiss shrieked. Her was voice shrill and painful in Ruby's ears, the clothing now on the floor forgotten.

"Huh?" Confused, Ruby looked up to her. She didn't understand what the big deal was. In school they had to change in front of each other all the time. Heck, she didn't even care if Jaune saw, which he frequently did, after millions of ridiculously over the top water fights during the summer. There were days when Yang walked around their apartment with nothing but underwear. Not to mention her uncle, who she caught one time watching television without any kind of coverage.

Weiss had her gaze stubbornly fixed on the ground, where the clothes were now scattered. Only slowly did realization dawn upon Ruby. Weiss had never gone to a public school. Weiss also didn't have many friends her age, nor did she have a sister to grow up with. Furthermore, there was that little fact about Weiss that had been sitting in the back of Ruby's mind...

She suddenly felt incredibly self-conscious. Hastily, she picked up the shirt and cardigan and threw them on, missing a few buttons here and there. Cursing herself for being stupid, she looked up at Weiss, who had turned around and began fidgeting. She must have made her incredibly uncomfortable. After all, for Weiss it was not normal to just change in front of friends. Especially someone she hadn't met too long ago.

"Is your skirt dry enough, or do you want me to get one of mine?"

"Nah, 's alright," Ruby mumbled.

"Your stockings are dirty." Weiss commented as she turned around, her gaze lowered to Ruby's feet. She seemed to try her best to sound composed and in control as she usually was but it was clear that she was feeling awkward to anyone with eyes or ears.

"Yeah, but they're black so it's hard to see." And wasn't like she actually cared that much. She would have probably even kept on her damp clothes and left her hair dripping wet if Weiss hadn't intervened.

"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable," Ruby said, trying her best to give Weiss a comforting smile. Which ended up being more a grimace, with her lips pressed to a thin line with forced little tugs at the end and furrowed brows. Great Job, Ruby! Well, at least she had tried.

Weiss, on the other hand, was still looking at her feet. It was weird how the girl that had been so composed, so in control on stage, was now so flustered. As Weiss almost shyly looked up and only streaked Ruby's gaze for a split second, and Ruby's breath hitched. She scratched her cheek, which felt warm under the tip of her finger.

"No. I was just surprised, that is all." Weiss folded her arms in front of her chest. She turned her head to her desk, only looking at Ruby out of the corner of her eyes, as if she couldn't bear it any other way. The blush on her cheeks slowly faded, but a tender pink remained on her marble skin. Red suited her.

"I'm sorry," Ruby mumbled again. "We undress in PE all the time and I dunno, I didn't think, you know."

"I _said_, it is fine."

Not wanting to let silence take over, Ruby ripped her eyes from the girl in front of her and again looked around, hoping to find a different topic.

"You really like white, huh?"

"I guess."

It had been so much easier to talk over the phone. In her room, her own comfort zone, without having to face the girl. Technically she could just try not to look at Weiss while speaking to her. But that would have been rude, and also, Ruby found it incredibly hard not to look. Weiss Schnee was captivating. So captivating in fact, that it led her to today.

"So um..." Ruby fumbled with her bag.

"Oh, ehm," The shade of Weiss's rosy cheeks darkened. "You want to start?"

Timid would have been the last word on Ruby's mind in describing the other girl. She had a firm walk and her back was straight as an arrow. But now Weiss was avoiding her gaze, shoulders slightly pulled up as if to protect her pale and feminine neck. Ruby noted how smooth the skin looked there, especially at the base. She wondered how it would feel under her fingertips. Would Weiss be cold or warm?

The girl sat down beside her, and maybe Ruby was imagining things, but it felt like Weiss was consciously sitting very close to her. In her head she compared how far she would usually sit down besides friends and immediately felt silly for even thinking about this so hard.

Taking a deep breath, Ruby pulled out a sketchbook and pencil from the rucksack. She didn't bring normal pencils – they'd need to be sharpened all the time, and Ruby wouldn't want to leave a mess in Weiss's room. For the same reason she hadn't brought any charcoal, even though she had found that she really liked working with it. Even if it was a bit loose and dirty, it felt rather freeing.

"So, I've never done something like this. Do you want me to look into a certain direction or -"

Ruby cut her off. "Oh no! Just, I don't know, maybe tilt your head a little and don't move too much." She quickly opened her sketchbook. "Ehm, but you know, we can like, keep talking. It would be weird if don't, so don't worry. Just ehm..."

Ruby was eager to start, her pencil hovering awkwardly over the blank page. But just as she wanted to bring down the lead, she stopped. Where should she start blocking her in? Maybe just do some loose doodles of her first, but what if they didn't look good? What if she couldn't do her justice at all? Not that Ruby thought that she could manage to even remotely capture what she saw in Weiss. It seemed impossible. Weiss had an overwhelming presence.

After Ruby sat frozen mid air for a minute, Weiss spoke up. "You alright?"

"Yeah, it's just scary..."

"I already told you, I won't be mad."

It wasn't like Ruby was scared of angering Weiss. The girl had promised not to blow up if she messed her face up and broke a few bones drawing her. Ruby just wanted the drawing to be perfect, to portray what she felt when she looked at the other girl. She wanted it for herself. More than anything.

"My father is still not home." Weiss said suddenly. "He promised to be home for two days already, but in the end there is not much we can do."

Ruby looked up from her empty paper. Weiss stared right back at her.

"Mother is here though. Has your Uncle returned by now?"

A tiny smile tugged at the white haired girl's lips. Ruby returned it with a toothy grin.

"Nah, though he's gonna be back soon." Her back relaxed and the frown marring her face eased. "Now, have I told you how Jaune tried to hit on some girl last week?"

Ruby's pencil flew across the paper.

Around Ruby's third story, which ended like most with Jaune throwing up on something, the frown returned and her hand came to an abrupt halt.

"Is something the matter?"

"The lower half of the chin is kinda tricky." Ruby mumbled, her tongue sticking out on the right side. Squinting, she stared at Weiss with her nose wrinkled.

"Oh, really?" Weiss had a hard time not rolling her eyes at Ruby's expression of utter concentration. "You look silly." She hid a smile behind her hand.

"Well, excuuuuuse me! Who is the artist here? I am trying to work!" Ruby really tried not to laugh, and to look as serious as possible. Just like a true artist, right? With nose held higher and snobbier than even Miss Rich Girl in front of her.

Weiss sighed and shook her head. "Should I move my head a bit more like this?" She tilted her head laying her neck completely bare, the underside of her chin almost facing Ruby. "Better like this?"

Ruby almost dropped her pencil. Weiss's skin looked so smooth and the nape of her neck so frail, so delicate, so inviting. She gulped down a dry knot in her throat and forced her eyes back on her paper.

"Yeah! That's um.. really helpful and stuff... But ehm, doesn't it like hurt?" Ruby felt a familiar tickling in her cheeks.

"Yes, that's why you better start drawing now." Weiss pressed out between gritted teeth, the strain distorting her face. "Or I will dislocate your neck like this. Permanently."

"Aw, you don't mean that."

"Don't test me."

After quite a few quick sketches from different positions, Ruby let out a satisfied sigh. She didn't think she was doing that well, but she was getting the hang of it. Drawing Weiss was the most fun she'd had in a while. A bit awkward in the beginning, and staring at her for a prolonged period of time also made her feel the tiniest bit tingly deep in her stomach, but just sitting with her, doodling and chatting away the afternoon was great.

"You think I can do like a longer, more detailed one?"

"Certainly, any angle you would like?"

"Just look at me, that would be rad."

"Rad?" Weiss asked bemused, facing Ruby. The corner of her lips tugged up into a smile, her head slightly tilted. Subtle wrinkles formed around her squinted eyes as she chuckled. She wasn't scary at all any more. Still a rather striking presence, but there was nothing frightening about Weiss Schnee for her. Well, as long as she never angered her.

"Blame my sis for that one. She says weird things sometimes."

"You clearly have never heard yourself talk."

Ruby simply stuck out her tongue. Weiss snorted. Both girls smiled.

"Say, could you let your hair down?" Ruby asked after dismissing quite a few sheets of paper full of sketches rather quickly. "It would frame your face nicely, and your hairdo is ridiculously hard to get right. Like with that twirling and stuff."

As Ruby looked up again, Weiss's hair had already fallen over her shoulder. Its own weight made the end curl slightly, and it looked smooth and soft. The light reflected dimly, the pure white almost absorbing all of it. Swallowing hard, Ruby forced herself to start, her hand cramping up.

"Would it not have been better to start slower instead?" Weiss wondered as she watched Ruby stiffly move her hand over the paper.

"Ah, no, doing some sketches helps me loosen up." Even if it didn't really look like it in the moment. "And like, I think I get your face now."

"You get my face?" Weiss slowly repeated. One of her eyebrows rose up to her fringe.

"Well, like, how your face works. I think I figured it out. Like, how your nose attaches and what forms its made up with and stuff." Ruby frowned for a second and laid her pencil down. "Though, your scar's still rather troublesome. I want to keep it impressive, but subtle. Thing is, I can't just put some strokes in your face, looks stupid."

Weiss clicked her tongue in thought. "You could leave it out? I don't mind." She crossed her arms over her chest, the tiniest wrinkles appearing on her forehead.

"What, no, actually I like your scar. It's just a pain to draw. Like, it's really cool and stuff."

"Really cool and stuff?" The wrinkles eased and and she smiled again. Even if it seemed rather condescending. "I guess it is."

Ruby's pencil hit the paper again. "Say, your dad also has one..."

"Oh no, his scar is very different from mine. It's a Schmiss, or smite."

"Gesundheit?"

"Close, it's a dueling scar from something called Mensur. It's an old fashioned practice in German fraternities. Actually, it was Blake's father who he has to thank for that." Seeing Ruby stare at her with wide eyes at the mention of 'dueling', she had to suppress a small giggle. "You want to hear the story?"

"Really!? Can I!?" Ruby leaned forward, her drawing forgotten, throwing her head up and down.

"It's not much of one. My father had just started his studies, while Blake's father, as well as Adam's mother, was doing a year abroad. You do know what Schnee Dust Corp. is all about right?"

"Pharmacy stuffs?"

"Yes, pharmacy stuffs. Back then we had a terrible image and truth be told we deserved it. Quite a few scandals, as well as a big problem with a medicament, with rather unfortunate side-effects. It led to complications during childbirth and potentially even damaged the unborn. My grandfather didn't handle this well." Her hand roamed through her hair in thought.

"We pulled it from the market as soon as we realized, but the damage was done. The aftermath wasn't pretty. And that is putting it lightly." She closed her eyes.

"During all of this father met Blake and Adam's parents. Who had rather strong opinions on the matter of the company. Not just about the accident, but about Schnee Dust in general. Public affairs, handling of employees and patent rights for the medicaments. My father was not the man he is now, and one could say they clashed quite often." Weiss smiled.

"If not for them, my father might have turned into a very bitter and different man. After a lot of duels and fights, they became friends. Adam's mother introduced father to my mother. Father turned Schnee Dust completely around with their help. It was a long fight, but here we are now. We owe a lot to them."

"After both Adam's and Blake's parents died, we tried taking them in, but they refused. Still, my father tries his best to support both of them. Even Adam."

Ruby nodded. This story was disappointingly less about awesome sword duels than she had hoped but proved to still be intriguing. It would have been a lie if she had said she wasn't curious about Blake's and Weiss's parent's relationship.

"That's why I hope, one day when I take over the company I can continue working on making it a better place. I am grateful. I don't think my life would have been as happy without Blake, and I don't know what kind of man my father would have been."

"But don't you love singing?"

"Yes, I do, but I made my decision a long time ago." Weiss smiled at Ruby. She seemed so much older right now, years older than her, years older than Yang. She looked absolutely beautiful.

"On the other hand, the way I got my scar is rather boring."

"Huh?" The sudden change of flow caught Ruby off guard. Weiss had turned her face away.

"I fell from a tree when playing outside with Blake." Weiss shrugged. She looked at her wristwatch. "Do you want to stay for dinner? My mother would be overjoyed."

"Actually, Yang is taking me and Blake out tonight, so I think I need to get going soon." She closed her sketchpad, the portrait left unfinished.

"Do you want me to give you a ride?" Weiss got up, straightening her skirt in one smooth move, shoulders straight, head held high. Seeing her standing Ruby only realized how long her hair was. It rivalled her sister's and Blake's, no, it had to be even longer. As she moved it trailed after her like little rays of pure light.

"Could you help me with this, please?" Weiss held up her hair, indicating that she wanted to put up her ponytail. "Long hair can be quite bothersome sometimes."

Ruby walked up her, carefully minding their distance. Afraid of stepping too close but not wanting to be further from Weiss than necessary. Especially since now she once again had a perfect view of her neck and her beautiful creamy skin. It reminded her a bit of milk, not the thin watery kind, but the rich full pure milk Ruby loved to drink every morning. She swallowed.

"S-sure. Don't really know how though, your hairdo looks mad complicated."

Weiss laughed into her hand. "I guess. Sometimes I wonder why I even keep it like that all the time."

"It looks really pretty though."

With wary fingers, Ruby dared to touch the elegant woven strands of hair. As if approaching something electrically charged, like she was about to get zapped hard.

Weiss's hair was as soft as it looked, no, maybe even softer than the wonderful linen of the bed they had sat on. She took most of the strands out of Weiss's hands carefully, handling them maybe with more care than she had ever Yang's.

"Thanks. My mama wore it like this."

"Your mother?" Ruby tried to remember, but she had been pretty sure Helena Schnee did not wear her hair like this. It had been rather short. She couldn't really imagine her wearing her hair in such elaborate manner, she seemed to be more of a simple woman.

"Oh, sorry. My birth mother, I meant. She died when I was a child. I don't remember much, but the image of the way she wore it is still clear."

Ruby almost let the hair slip through her fingers. She stammered apologies.

"It's fine. Not like you could have known. Also, I do see Helena as much as my mother, maybe even more than the woman who had given birth to me."

In silence, Ruby continued to bind the heiress's hair. The only time she had ever had long hair was when she was five, and Yang usually wouldn't let her touch hers, so a lot of little strands peeked out from the sides. It was messy and wild, not as elegant and perfect as it had been. But Weiss seemed to pay it no mind.

"Thanks."

Shifting her weight from foot to foot, avoiding the mess she had just made on top of Weiss's head, she mumbled a quick, "Ya welcome."

"Should I drive you home? The rain is still going..." Weiss asked again and trailed off, looking outside the window into the muddy scenery.

"Oh no! I'll just take the bus, no worries." Ruby shook her hands in front of her, pushing the corner of her lips up.

"Then at least let me walk you."

The walk had been quiet, the two of them huddled under a single umbrella, but for some reason Ruby didn't care. The rain drummed sluggishly on them. In the sky, clouds suffocated the last bit of evening sun that had dared to fall between the trees, colouring everything in a blueish hue. The silence was only interrupted by the occasional crack of a branch under their boots.

The distance Ruby had tried to keep had vanished. Their shoulders and arms bumped into each other as the uneven ground sunk and rose. Like opposite poles, they seemed to be drawn to each other under the protection of the umbrella.

The forest that had seemed to looming and overwhelming now gave a strange feeling of privacy and comfort.

In Ruby's opinion, they reached the bus stop way too soon. The big street, ripping through their togetherness, made them leave a gap between their shoulders. Quickly hiding under the little cabin, Ruby tore herself completely from Weiss.

"You should head back." Whispered Ruby.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm cool. Thanks for today."

"You are welcome." Weiss answered smiling mildly. She gripped the umbrella tightly, seeming to have a hard time leaving.

"You know... I haven't finished that portrait." Staring at Weiss's boots Ruby sheepishly scratched her cheek. "It would be really awesome if I could continue it some time."

"Well, you have to give me my clothing back, too."

"Oh, yeah, I'll wash them and stuff give them back to you then?" Ruby looked up to her. "I'll call you?"

"Greet Blake for me."

"Yeah. Greet your mom for me."

With her rucksack in her hands, Ruby leaned against the wooden cabin. She watched Weiss being swallowed by the woods. Without her heels, she seemed so small.

* * *

Edited by Touzen!

Sorry this took so long, but I am confident the next chapter will be done quicker because winter break and stuffs. Thanks for all the nice reviews and helpful pointers. I hope all of you enjoyed this and will continue to do so. I enjoyed writing so much fluff at least especially since this was written side by side by Of Fairy Tales which is rather dark. I also have an obsession with Weiss' neck since her trailer debuted in case you didnt notice.

Someone asked about Bumblebee(y) in the reviews, and I will be honest. There will be more implications a the side in combination of the Adam subplot but otherwise this will be focused and centered on White Rose, I have picked only two main characters for that reason.

It's always to see more german RWBY fans btw, actually have one in my class! I hope to see some cosplay during the next conventions, too.

Anyhoodles, contact me via PM or frozenpug at tumblr (where I doodle and talk more about my obsession with mecha!RWBYs) or just leave are review! In any case I hope all of you have a nice holiday season. 


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